The Home of Australian Craft Beer

Little Creatures Brewery

Would the Australian craft beer scene be where it is today without Little Creatures? Just like founder Phil Sexton's first foray into craft beer at Matilda Bay, the Fremantle brewery has helped blaze a trail for others to follow since opening in 2000, never less than with its iconic Pale Ale, the first Aussie beer to give drinkers a taste of the big, hoppy US pales that had wowed the States years earlier.

Since opening on the site of a former crocodile farm on the Freo waterfront, Little Creatures has become a runaway success. The brewery and accompanying bar gets bigger and bigger by the year, now encompassing several huge sheds featuring expanses of glass that let the stainless steel tanks take centre stage. Meanwhile, their beers continue to spread the craft beer word into every corner of the country - and have started flying the flag for the Australian beer scene overseas too.

More recently, Little Creatures has opened a dining hall in Melbourne's iconic Brunswick Street, a colourful, cavernous venue that's packed every day of the week serving up their beers alongside a handful of other Aussie and international labels plus pizzas and other food suitable for accompanying beer. It also pours beers from White Rabbit, Little Creatures' little brother brewery in Healesville that uses the old brewhouse from Freo that was replaced in 2008.

As for the beer, the brewery's main offerings have remained pretty settled for some time now, with the Pale augmented by the Bright Ale, Roger's and a Pilsner. But just as visitors to the Freo HQ have been treated to regular limited release beers, now drinkers across Australia get to sample something new every few months in the form of the Single Batch releases, which have so far included an Oatmeal Stout, a Brown Ale and a single hop East Kent Golding Ale. The regularity with which these appear is expected to increase, while at some point in the future, the Little Creatures empire will be getting that little bit bigger after the parent company, Little World Beverages, bought a large plot of land in Geelong where they intend to open a third brewery.

The Regulars

Such has been the regularity with which Little Creatures has released its Single Batch beers, it might come as a surprise to know that it's fully seven years since the release of the last permanent beer in their range. But now you can add an IPA to the stable that began with the Pale Ale (originally called "Live"), Pilsner, Bright and Rogers. In their own words, the idea was to give lovers of their Pale Ale "a little more" and they've done just that. After leaving its British ···
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Can anything be said about this beer that hasn't already been said? When it first appeared as Little Creatures "Live" on the day the brewery opened, it shocked even the bar staff who were about to serve it to the public with its punchy interpretation of big, hoppy American style pales. And while many have imitated since, it remains a standout on the Aussie beer scene. Possessing everything you would want in the style - pungent hop aromas, softly layered malts and a satisfyingly big and ···
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A take on the classic European style that blends Aussie and Kiwi hops to create a light, refreshing lager with a crisp bitterness. An extended fermentation period ensures it's a clean beer, one for quenching thirsts when the mercury rises. ···
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As some parts of the Aussie craft beer scene seek bigger and more bizarre beers, we believe there's also the need for more full-flavoured, lower alcohol beers - which is just what Rogers has delivered for years. Belying its mere 3.8% ABV, it's what the brewers describe, with justification, as "a silky session ale". Nicely balanced flavours from whole hop flowers and toasted malts give the drinker light, citrusy aromas and roasted hazelnut, toffee and caramel malt flavours in an easy-drinking ···
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A beer that we're positive has played a role in the conversion of many a dyed-in-the-wool swill drinker to the world of better beer, Little Creatures Bright Ale is a fantastic gateway beer to the Promised Land. Described as "sunshine in a glass" by the people that make it, it blends Vienna and Cara malts with Aussie pale malt and aromas of pineapple, passionfruit and melon thanks to the use of whole US Cascade and NZ Motueka hop flowers. ···
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Golden Yellow

Style

Golden Ale

Strength

4.5%

The Specials

Tapped Fri Oct 14 2016

When Little Creatures announced it was bringing down the curtain on its Single Batch releases, there was some sadness among the nation's beer lovers. Many would have heard the news and wistfully remembered their favourites (Dreadnought and Mr Obadiah at Crafty Towers) and, in all likelihood, blamed the new overlords at Lion for the decision. However, things since then haven't turned out too badly...
Two bottled seasonals a year have appeared, such as the hoppy-as-you-like summer beer Dog Days, Dreadnought ···
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Tapped Thu Oct 6 2016

Ever since the brewery started releasing Single Batches and seasonals in bottles, stretching back to when the Geelong operation was a mere pipe dream, Little Creatures has never looked back. No beer has ever enjoyed a second run, the nearest being Return of the Dread acting as cousin to 2011's popular Dreadnought. But now a seasonal has broken rank, with last year's summer release, Dog Days, returning to the fold in can form for 2016/17.
Last time around, we said of Dog Days that it came with "peachy, ···
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Tapped Thu May 12 2016

A year ago, Little Creatures set off ripples of delight among the country's beer lovers when they released Return of the Dread. Their first winter seasonal was a homage to one of its most popular Single Batch releases, The Dreadnought, and was a fine, bold, complex stout in its own right. For winter 2016, they've done it again: releasing a stout with links to the Dreadnought. Yet it's not Return of the Dread II...
Having released those two higher ABV stouts, the brewers in Freo decided to do something ···
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Tapped Mon Nov 16 2015

Little Creatures Pilsner has always felt to us a little like the forgotten member of the brewery's family. The Pale is, well, the Pale, Rogers has long been something of a cult classic among mid strengths, Bright Ale has done plenty of heavy lifting in venues across the country over the years and got a refurb last year, while by virtue of being the newest member of the lineup, the IPA has been guaranteed coverage in the past couple of years too. The Single Batches and new Seasonals have found favour ···
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Tapped Mon Sep 28 2015

As an opening salvo for its new Seasonal series, Little Creatures came out all guns blazing with Return of the Dread, the foreign export stout we fully expect will be among many people's favourite beers of the year. Now, as the mercury starts to rise in earnest, they're back with number two: a beer that is pretty much the polar opposite of the Dread. Where the Dread was relatively high in alcohol, Dog Days measures an easy-going 4.4 percent ABV. Where Dread was a dense, malt driven beast, Dog Days ···
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Tapped Fri May 8 2015

As they prepare to commence building the new venue for sister brewery White Rabbit at their home in Geelong, there's another change afoot in the world of Little Creatures, albeit not such a dramatic one. They are introducing regular seasonal releases in 330ml stubbies from the Creatures brew crew, with the first setting sail for winter.
Their first builds a clear bridge between the past and present as they've chosen to revisit one of their earliest and best loved Single Batches, the Dreadnought. ···
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Tapped Fri Oct 31 2014

Back in August, we ran a story on the collaborations taking place between Little Creatures and Emerson's, the trans-Tasman breweries taken into the Lion family in the past couple of years. A collaboration took place on either side of The Ditch and the first of those to hit Aussie taps is this Saison. The challenge from Kiwi brewing legend Richard Emerson was to brew a traditional saison, which the Creatures crew did via the means of a French saison yeast and a touch of their beloved East Kent Goldings ···
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Tapped Tue Jul 8 2014

It looks like those who feared the crash of doom when Little Creatures became 100 percent owned by Lion / Kirin may have to wait a little longer. The brewery continues to do plenty of good things, whether adding an excellent IPA to its core range, creating an urban hop farm or supporting loads of craft beer and community events. And now it's giving its shift brewers the chance to shine too. The Shift Brewers Stash will become a series of occasional releases (draught only) that will slot in alongside ···
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Tapped Fri Mar 21 2014

One imagines that since the takeover of Little Creatures by Lion there are plenty of beer folks around the country keeping a beady eye or three on the trailblazing brewery for signs of a reduce in craftiness. Given recent months have seen the launch of their excellent IPA and the opening of the equally excellent venue at the new brewery in Geelong and they're now back with another Single Batch release, those signs would seem to be few and far between. The arrival of a new Single Batch is always a ···
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Tapped Mon Jun 24 2013

The full effects of last year's Lion purchase of Little Creatures will take some time to be seen. Yet, when the announcement was made last year, there were fears among beer aficionados that the Single Batch program could be something to suffer. Yet that's not proven to be the case; indeed, both Creatures and White Rabbit continue to play around with one-off firkins and tiny, tap only experiments at the bases in Freo, Healesville and Fitzroy. The latest Single Batch to make its way nationwide is Mr ···
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Tapped Thu Mar 21 2013

They took the Aussie beer world a little by surprise with this release did Little Creatures. Bottles arrived at Crafty Towers before we even knew the was another Single Batch on the way and it seems plenty of others were unaware too. Still, following in the footsteps of the likes of the Big Dipper, Dreadnought and Quiet American, there's always a frisson of excitement to see what the team at Freo comes up with when given free rein to have a play in the brewery. This time around, they've brewed a ···
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Tapped Fri Oct 26 2012

While the impact of the Lion takeover remains to be seen at Little Creatures, the Single Batches continue to appear, much to the delight of the beer-loving public. On a roll after the likes of the Big Dipper, Dreadnaught and Quiet American, here they've returned to Germany for inspiration (following last year's Single Batch Marzen) with a lightly smoked Bock. The use of beechwood smoked malt is such that it's barely detectable on the nose, where sweet malty aromas hold fort; instead, it appears more ···
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Tapped Fri Jun 29 2012

Timing is everything. And there was certainly something amusing about the release of a spiced ale that's close to double figures for alcohol content coming so close to news that Lion - not a company known for its promotion of such esoteric fare - was planning to take control of 100 per cent of Little Creatures. While their Pale Ale has continued its successful charge across the country as one of the best craft beer converters, the Single Batch series has helped keep those at the more extreme end ···
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Tapped Mon Apr 16 2012

It's all go at Creatures these days. Hot on the heels of the Wet Hopped Pale Ale comes this hybrid US IPA / Belgian Trappist ale, while the Little Rabbit collaboration brew with their sister brewery at White Rabbit takes shape in Healesville. It's "Quiet" as a nod to the monks who brew the original Trappist beers and "American", well, because it's packed with pungent American Cascade and Chinook hops. This blending of styles is rather popular these days it seems, with Bridge Road's ···
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Tapped Fri Mar 16 2012

Brewing this beer was a little like the Amazing Race for hops, as you can read about in the story we ran on it here. Little Creatures wanted to see what their flagship would taste like when brewed with freshly harvested hops instead of dried flowers, ending up putting 100kg into the hopback where usually there would be 25kg. The result is a surprisingly different beer, one that's nailed spot on by the head brewer, in that the hops are rather conspicuous by their absence on the nose but appear with ···
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Tapped Fri Oct 21 2011

It reminds you of the scale of the Little Creatures audience compared to most craft brewers in Australia when you see them describe the 7.8% strength of this beer as "massive alcohol percentage" on their website. Already, hardened beer lovers are popping up claiming it's not big enough to warrant the double IPA epithet, yet to the vast majority of Little Creatures drinkers, this will be a massively boozy concoction. Perspective, people. Anyway, we digress slightly. What of the beer itself, ···
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Tapped Fri Aug 19 2011

It's been a little while since the last Little Creatures Single Batch release - and a fair while since this one was originally conceived. The Dreadnought came about from an in-house competition, with head brewer Alex Troncoso setting his brewers and any other home brewing types within the Creatures family the task of coming up with something big and dark for a winter release. The winner was this, ramped up to a full brew length and now making its way onto taps and into bottleshops across the land. ···
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Tapped Mon Apr 18 2011

Having cast their net towards the fields of Southern England for their last Single Batch release, this time Little Creatures has taken a hop and a skip to Germany to create the classic Mí¤rzen style. Blending four malts with Czech Saaz, NZ Pacifica & US Willamette hops, they've created a strong lager like those originally produced in Germany in March (Mí¤rzen is the German word for March) to last through the hot summer months when brewers couldn't brew beer due to the high amount of bacteria ···
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Tapped Fri Feb 11 2011

hey seem to like bucking the trend at Little Creatures. First their Pale (or Live as it was then) introduced the Aussie beer drinking world to US style hoppy pales. And now, while everyone else is using their limited releases to create something wild and crazy, they're firing out rather more traditional beers under their Single Batch banner, such as the Oatmeal Stout and now this, the East Kent Goldings Ale. It's a single hop affair, using the classic English hop that features in some of their other ···
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The Crafty Pint is an independent online magazine and resource for anyone interested in craft beer in Australia. We bring an honest, old-fashioned journalistic approach to beer's brave new world, telling stories because they're worth telling not because someone is paying us to write them.

Like many of the people who have changed the face of beer in Australia, we believe in authenticity, integrity, enjoyment and love. We hope to play a role in helping good beer, brewed by good people, find its way into the hands of more drinkers.